Page 93 of How to Tempt an Earl

Nothing else mattered.

And now it may be too late to tell her. He turned to Brooks and eyed him with a deep-seated desperation. “Do you want it?”

“What?”

“The Raven. Do you want the club?” He felt suddenly anxious as if his skin were too tight to contain all his rioting emotions.

Brooks eyed him speculatively. “What are you saying, man? You think to actually sell it to me?”

“I do. I can only hope it isn’t too late and she will accept me.” Without waiting for a response, he pushed past Brooks and ran out of the club. He sprinted to the mews, didn’t bother with his carriage, and saddled a horse. A sense of urgency drove him. He had to reach her before she left the house, their home. He made it faster than he’d ever traveled the distance before and sprinted up the front steps. He opened the door only to find Grace standing in the vestibule.

“Grace. I was coming to find you.” A sense of relief swept through him that she hadn’t yet departed.

“Ian, I—”

“No, love, let me speak. Brooks told me you were leaving.” At the sight of her trunks packed and ready, his unease increased.

“I was, but—”

“I’ve been a selfish fool, and you were right to be angry with me. I deceived you into marrying me, and I lied to you about selling the Raven Club. I beg your forgiveness.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he stepped close and pressed a finger to her lips. “I’m selling the Raven Club to Brooks. I don’t need the place. I need you. I love you. Please don’t leave.”

She looked stunned, then the corners of her sweet lips turned up in an enchanting smile. “Don’t you dare sell your share to Brooks.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“I was wrong. I see that now. Brooks told me everything.”

“Are you upset to learn the truth?” For the first time, he realized she may not be happy about his parental roots.

“It doesn’t matter to me if the earl wasn’t your father, and it shouldn’t to you. But that has nothing to do with the Raven Club. You will not sell it. We will run it together and continue to use the profits for good and to employ those who need it most.”

“Are you certain?” he asked.

She eyed him. “I am.”

“Then I have only one condition,” he said. “I want to turn away those who are like your father—gamblers who are drawn to their drink and their tables and have no regard for their recklessness.”

Her lips parted. “Oh, Ian. Thank you.”

“We don’t need their money, and I’ve no desire to contribute to their dissolution. I love you. I need you more than I’ve ever needed any club. Please tell me I’m not too late and you will not leave me.”

“I do love you, Ian.”

He pulled her into his arms. “Truly?”

“Oh, yes.”

“How long?”

She melted against him. “Since our first lessons.” She kissed the corners of his lips.

Ian gazed at her in wonder, and he gloried in the shared moment. “I feared you would never come to love a casino owner.”

She smoothed the crease between his brows. “I came to know the man.”

“You are my life, not the Raven.” His voice was hoarse with emotion.

“What of your family? Your sisters?” she asked.